Agricultural implements and machines, such as various plows, tillers, rippers, seeders, nutrient applicators, etc., are used to work soil of crop fields. Tillage and other agricultural implements can perform a variety of tasks, such as breaking up tough soil, injecting nutrients into the soil, and leveling the soil. Such implements are commonly towed behind work vehicles, such as tractors, and can be outfitted with a variety of ground-engaging tools, such as shanks and disks, depending on the soil preparation operation being carried out.
The ability to efficiently and effectively conduct soil preparation operations is highly affected by the soil conditions, such as the wetness of the soil, how much crop residue is in the soil, and the general composition of the soil. In some agricultural implements, ground-engaging tools may suffer from a buildup of soil and crop residue, especially when the soil is wet, resulting in decreased efficiency of the ground-engaging tools and potentially clogging the ground-engaging tools. This may require the operator of the work vehicle and agricultural implement to stop and exit the machine to manually unclog or clean the ground-engaging tools, resulting in lost time and decreased productivity. Another issue is establishing and maintaining the proper orientation of the ground-engaging tools with respect to the frame, and thereby alignment with the direction of travel of the implement and machine, to achieve a consistent furrow row spacing. Yet another issue is establishing proper contact of the ground-engaging tools with the ground to achieve the desired soil preparation, including creating the furrows at a desired depth into the ground, or at consistent depth across the width of the implement transverse to the travel direction of the machine.